British retail sales drop in March

LONDON: Retail sales in Britain fell at the fastest pace for more than a year in March, official data showed on Thursday.

On a monthly basis, retail sales shrank by 0.4 per cent in March from February, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

That was the sharpest decline since January 2007 and compared with analysts' consensus forecasts for a drop of 0.3 per cent.

But on a 12-month basis, retail sales grew by 4.6 per cent in March, compared with the figure for the same month the previous year, the ONS added. That beat market expectations for a rise of 4.3 per cent.

"There are signs are that the consumer's health is deteriorating in the face of mounting pressures, and we expect spending to be markedly weaker over the coming months," said economist Howard Archer at the Global Insight consultancy in London.